Selected Reform Responsa 141

Human beings have selectively bred plants and animals since the beginning of herding and agriculture to adapt them to specific human needs and environments. Genetic engineering will vastly accelerate this process. This may eliminate poverty, famine and disease but may also bring scourges and problems that we cannot foresee.

We are standing at the edge of a new scientific era. We certainly wish to utilize the potentials of genetic engineering for the benefit of humanity. That may be partially within our power. It is not within our power to stop the scientific experimentation. The human yearning to understand the divine creation and everything in it as fully as possible cannot be halted, nor can the desire to alleviate the problems of hunger, disease, and poverty.

As we learn more about the nature of genetic engineering we must discuss its moral implications both with regard to animals and human beings. We realize that the line between plants, animals, and human beings is thin and in some ways does not exist at all. So we must proceed with caution. In consort with others we must set limits and provide direction. We have, of course, become especially sensitive to all these issues since the Holocaust and the terrible medical experimentation that occurred then.

We may be ready to accept genetic changes made for medical purposes and experimentation, as pikuh nefesh is an overriding consideration(Shab 132a; Yoma 85b; Tosefta Shab 17 and Alfas: Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 328.1; Hatam Sofer Responsa Hoshen Mishpat#185). Human life must be saved if it is at all possible and even some pain to animals is permitted for this purpose. Economic reasons, however, could not justify such a course of action. These should always be reviewed carefully.

When dealing with experimental animals we should be quite certain that they are not subjected to pain or used for frivolous reasons, as for example, cosmetic experimentation.

A mouse engineered genetically for a specific set of experiments, which will eventually help human beings, lies within the boundaries of utilizing animals for the benefit of human beings.